Volleyball: Vanden headed to section semi after 3-0 win over Manteca

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Vanden's Alona Walker spikes the ball between Manteca High's Julia Moreno (left) and Kaylee MacDannald during the second set of the Vikings' straight set victory in the second round of the 2018 CIS Sac Joaquin Section Division III Championships Thursday at James Boyd Gymnasium.
(Joel Rosenbaum -- The Reporter)

Vanden's Mariah Navat returns serve during the secondt set against Manteca High in the second round of the section championships.
(Joel Rosenbaum -- The Reporter)

Vanden's Alona Walker blocks a shot by Manteca High's Julia Moreno during the first set of the Vikings' straight set victory in the second round of the 2018 CIS Sac Joaquin Section Division III Championships Thursday at James Boyd Gymnasium.
(Joel Rosenbaum -- The Reporter)

Vanden's Taylor Whyte (right) and Mariah Navat celebrate winning a point during the first set against Manteca High in the second round of the section championships.
(Joel Rosenbaum -- The Reporter)

Vanden's Mariah Navat lunges for a deep ball during the first set against Manteca High in the second round of the section championships.
(Joel Rosenbaum -- The Reporter)

Cathryn Marshall blocks a shot by Manteca High's Julia Moreno during the second set of the Vikings' straight set victory in the second round of the 2018 CIS Sac Joaquin Section Division III Championships Thursday at James Boyd Gymnasium.
(Joel Rosenbaum -- The Reporter)

Vanden's Bailey Palestinil blocks a shot by Manteca High's Kacy Bolding during the second set of the Vikings' straight set victory in the second round of the 2018 CIS Sac Joaquin Section Division III Championships Thursday at James Boyd Gymnasium.
(Joel Rosenbaum -- The Reporter)

Members of the Vanden High volleyball team celebrate winning a point after a long rally in the second set of the second round section championship game against Manteca High School Thursday at James Boyd Gymnasium.
(Joel Rosenbaum -- The Reporter)

Vanden's Anaya Rodriguez sets the ball for a teammate during the second set against Manteca High School Thursday at Vanden during the second round of the 2018 CIF Sac Joaquin Section Division III Championships.
(Joel Rosenbaum -- The Reporter)

Vanden's Alona Walker returns serve during the third set against Manteca High School Thursday at Vanden during the second round of the 2018 CIF Sac Joaquin Section Division III Championships.
(Joel Rosenbaum -- The Reporter)

Vanden's Taylor Whyte (left) Anaya Rodriguez (middle) and Mariah Navat celebrate a point during the third set against Manteca High School Thursday at Vanden during the second round of the 2018 CIF Sac Joaquin Section Division III Championships.
(Joel Rosenbaum -- The Reporter)

Vanden High School’s volleyball team didn’t lose a single game at home during the regular season, and the Vikings weren’t about to let it happen in the playoffs.

Vanden overcame a couple of slow starts Thursday night at home to easily handle visiting Manteca in three sets in the second round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III playoffs.

With the win, second-seeded Vanden advanced to the section semifinal, where No. 3 Christian Brothers awaits. The match will be at Vanden on Tuesday with a 7 p.m. start.

The Vikings made it look easy early on, cruising to a 25-7 victory in the first set to take a 1-0 lead right away. The second and third sets were a bit more work as the Vikings fell behind 4-0 in both before rallying to win 25-14 and 25-12, respectively.

“We ‘re always a slow starter,” Vanden head coach Cindy Scolavino said. “I don’t know what the deal is . . . We can’t go up against big teams and start slow. That can be a problem. But the girls were very focused tonight and rallied back.”

After falling behind 4-0 in the second set, Vanden responded with an 18-4 flurry as Bailey Palestini, Emily Casner, Taylor Whyte and Alona Walker all contributed to the run with kills.

The Vikings then finished off the set, highlighted by two more missiles by Palestini and one more by Whyte.

Vanden’s Bailey Palestini (left) Gabby Coleman, Anaya Rodriguez and Taylor Whyte begin the post game celebration after the Vikings completed a three set sweep over Manteca High School in the second round of the 2018 CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division III playoffs Thursday at Vanden.<br />(Joel Rosenbaum — The Reporter)

Palestini finished with a match-high 16 kills with Whyte and Walker each adding eight of their own to lead a relentless Vanden attack.

“They just took a breath of fresh air and really went after it and stayed aggressive all the way through,” Scolavino said of her hitters. “It doesn’t matter who I have up there, they are all hitting machines.”

The third set saw the Vikings fall behind 4-0 yet again before storming all the way back again. Palestini had a run of three straight kills, while Whyte and Walker had big blocks.

A soft, placement kill by Palestini in the low left corner had the Vikings up 20-12 before CoCo Ikpe added a kill and Palestini finished the Buffaloes with back-to-back kills to end the third set and the match with a 25-12 win.

Petty said while the offensive attack was fun to watch, she was most proud of the defensive effort, citing Vanden’s one league loss to Vacaville in September.

“we’ve been focusing hard on the defensive end,” Petty said. “Ever since our loss to Vaca High, that’s what we’ve been hitting on most. Make sure we’re in the right spots and adjusting properly.”

Scolavino agreed.

“We started this season and defense was a weak part of our game,” Scolavino admitted. “I can’t say that now. I’m very proud of that back row. They are off the charts.”

Mariah Navat led the defensive effort with 14 digs, while Whyte and Petty had eight each.

With one match standing between Vanden and the section title game, Scolavino says the intensity must remain high.

“Of all the teams we’ve had at Vanden, I think this is the one that can go the furthest,” Scolavino said. “I’m really excited for them, they’re working hard and I can’t wait to see how far we really can go.”